KABUL: In the aftermath of the government’s temporarily
postponing the April presidential elections and in the face of public trust
levels at the lowest ebbs, the U.S. Ambassador to Kabul John R. Bass has hit
out at Afghanistan’s election bodies for being politically-oriented and incapable
of managing the electoral process.

The Independent Election Commission delayed this week the
presidential polls for at least three months to allow for fixing loopholes and
bringing organizational reforms, a decision that prompted a brusque opposition
by the Trump administration.

Following the election delay announcement, the U.S. envoy
John Bass heaped criticism at incapacity of the election commission in holding
timely polls.

The election commission postponed the elections to July,
although the country’s landmark presidential elections were slated to be held
in April 2019.

In a tweet, Mr. Bass said: “Afghan people deserve elections
bodies that are non-political, highly capable, and staffed with experts who can
restore public trust in the elections process.

This comes after the UNAMA’s call for critical reforms in Afghanistan’s
poll panels. “The IEC and the ECC should take necessary corrective measures and
focus intensively in the coming months on completing a full package of realistic
and prioritized reforms.

“These reforms should include cleaning the voters’ registry,
establishing a clear division of responsibilities between the Independent
Election Commission and the IEC Secretariat, ensuring a fully staffed and
trained professional Secretariat, and making any needed changes to their own
structures, well ahead of the July 2019 election,” the UNAMA said in a
statement.

The United Nations in a statement emphasized that mismanagement
of the presidential election would be unacceptable. “There were major and
avoidable irregularities in the preparations and implementation of the
parliamentary elections.”